Virtual-reality computer systems have recently received significant interest because of their ability to create immersive experiences and environments for users. Many virtual-reality computer systems use one or more on-body devices, such as a head-mounted device (“HMD”) to render a virtual environment to a user. Conventional virtual-reality systems completely obstruct the actual world and display only the virtual environment to the user through the HMD. As a result, a user is completely immersed within the virtual environment and may not be aware of his/her real-world surroundings.
Continued advances in hardware capabilities and rendering technologies have greatly increased the realism of virtual objects displayed within a virtual-reality environment. For example, in virtual-reality environments, virtual objects can be placed within the virtual world in such a way as to give the impression that the user is completely immersed in a new world as opposed to his/her actual environment. As the user moves around within the real world, the virtual-reality environment automatically updates so that the user is provided with the proper perspective and view of the virtual objects. This virtual-reality environment is often referred to as a computer-generated scene, or simply a “scene.” As used herein, “virtual-reality environment,” “computer-generated scene,” or simply “scene” are interchangeable terms that relate to an experience in which virtual content is projected in a virtual environment.
As discussed earlier, a virtual-reality head-mounted device completely obstructs a user's ability to see his/her real-world environment. In some situations, however, it is desirable for the user to view his/her real-world environment while still wearing the head-mounted device. To address this need, some VR systems have been developed to generate a “passthrough” visualization of that user's real-world environment. This passthrough visualization is rendered on the HMD of the head-mounted device so the user can view his/her real-world environment without having to remove the head-mounted device. To that end, cameras mounted on the user's head-mounted device capture visualizations of the user's real-word surroundings, and those visualizations are then projected onto the HMD so the user can view the real world without having to take off the head-mounted device.
While some technologies are available for generating passthrough visualizations, the current technologies are seriously lacking. In particular, the current technology is very costly because it requires new hardware (i.e., cameras) to be installed on the head-mounted device to capture the user's real-world surroundings. Furthermore, the current technology fails to optimize its passthrough visualizations to maximize the user's comfort when perceiving those visualizations. To clarify, each user perceives his/her environment in a different manner due to differences in body composition (e.g., distance between a person's eyes). The current passthrough technology fails to account for these body composition differences when generating its passthrough visualizations. To summarize, while some passthrough technologies have been developed, these technologies fail to accommodate the needs of many users.
The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one exemplary technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.